WebOS 2.0 - Calling, Contacts and Messaging

Summary

Our Score:

9

Key to the WebOS experience is integration of information from multiple sources and this is probably most noticeable in your contacts where after adding Facebook, Palm, Exchange and other email accounts you will find your contacts bursting with addresses, pictures and other bits of information.

If you end up with multiple entries for each contact, it's a simple task to link them together into one super contact from which you can access all their information. Sadly selecting a contact doesn't actually show the messages they've sent or the Facebook updates they've made, nor does clicking the Facebook icon on their profile actually go to Facebook. So while social networking integration is there, it's not quite on the level of some rivals.

The dialler is a simple enough affair with nice large buttons and quick access to contacts, call history, favourites, and voicemail. The presence of an onscreen keypad does rather highlight how it surely can't be that difficult to add an equivalent option across the rest of the phone.

Text messages are handled as smartly as we've come to expect nowadays with texts exchanged with one contact arranged together into a conversation. Tap the button at the top of the screen and you can access your IM buddies, indeed IMs and SMS texts are nested into the same conversation. Sadly Windows Live! Messenger isn't supported.

Ash

November 30, 2010, 3:13 pm

BTW, any news on the spec for iPhone 5? Can we expect it to have a 3D screen? I quite like the idea of iPhone 5D ;)

lensmann

November 30, 2010, 3:50 pm

@Ash: My thoughts exactly. The N8 would have been bleedin' fantastic if it'd been running this and not Symbian.

Ala Miah

November 30, 2010, 3:52 pm

Only if HTC picked up WebOS 2.0 then we'd have a great phone with a great software.

Chatan Mistry

November 30, 2010, 4:02 pm

Does Web OS 2.0 not work with the original Palm Pre? If so, can it utilise the GPU on there? That could be a good alternative to buying the Pre 2...

Neil B

November 30, 2010, 4:03 pm

So close but not quite enough to tempt me from Symbian... The comments above really do prove the "horses for courses" view on these mobile OSs. Lack of widgets is a deal breaker for me as is offline sat-nav (like Ovi) and an FM Transmitter.

Incidentally, will you be reviewing the Nokia C7 any time soon? My contracts up for renewal soon and it looks as if it could be the perfect phone for me.

Stelph

November 30, 2010, 5:04 pm

Web OS 2.0 does look good, ive got an original Pre that I got for cheap on ebay as I wanted to play with Web OS so I also hope 2.0 comes to the original Palm phones

However like Neil B as nice as it is, its still not quite "there" for me. I am beginning to get frustrated with the mobile OS's as none seem to be the very best overall, each with their own strengths

iOS is very iniutive with great app support to bring a lot of functionality, but with no widgets and no support for anything outside the appled walled garden (like other video codex)

Android is very open and has good support for widgets, but has issues with manufacturers adding their own skins and causing fragmentation. Also there is no video editing app which is criminal

Web OS is very pretty and supposedly the best for hands on, but is limited by the hardware it seems

Thats why, like Neil B, I think im getting a Nokia N8, Symbian may not be the most intuitive or have the most apps ect but it is a very good alrounder it seems.

@Neli B - Theres a good review on the GSMArena of the C7, essentially it is the same phone (same internals and OS) apart from these advantages of the N8 over it

Much better camera

Special video zoom

HDMI port with 720p video output and true Dolby Digital Plus support

16GB built-in memory

Anodized aluminum body

Richer retail box

Easily accessible memory card slot

However the C7 does look and feel nicer

Chatan Mistry

November 30, 2010, 7:15 pm

@stelph - maybe consider the Google Nexus One. It's unskinned Android

I've just bought my wife a HTC Trophy running WP7, and I've got the iPhone. I have to say WP7 is very slick and my wife likes it. However, the apps are non-existent, and even the ones that are there aren't as smooth as IOS (e.g. the marble game)

It is a shame WebOS is only on Palm, which is turn still seems to be an expensive option

C

Neil B

November 30, 2010, 7:24 pm

@Stelph - I've seen the GSMArena review amongst others, I'd just like to see the TR viewpoint. The extra features the N8 has over the C7 don't justify the price to me, they're features I could quite happily live without. Anyway, I prefer smaller a form factor and the extra battery life this inherently provides.

Tim Sutton

November 30, 2010, 7:48 pm

@Ash

For the love of GOD could we please have the occasional review or news item without Apple fanbois trying to talk about their chosen tech deity? Honestly, I avoid just about every Apple story precisely to keep away from this annoyance.

Chris

November 30, 2010, 8:22 pm

I'm a supporter of physical keyboards on phones. There will always be a place for them and I'm glad that the Palm Pre 2 exists in its current form. However, I think that the majority of people would be better served by a device with only a virtual keyboard. IMHO, this is at the root of what's holding WebOS back. If you could do away with the keyboard, the screen could be larger and the device could be thinner and lighter. This would make for a far more 'sexy' device in most people's eyes, and a much easier device to sell as a result.

Android only started its inexorable rise in popularity once the really desirable devices hit the mainstream. The likes of the boxy, bulky, keyboard-equipped G1 were never going to achieve the kind popularity that was required to pull Android out of its niche market. It was only once phones like the Hero, Desire and Nexus One hit the market that everyone took notice. Until HP can pull off the same trick and make the whole package desirable to Joe Public, WebOS is destined to remain a minority OS. Such a shame...

Stelph

November 30, 2010, 10:00 pm

@Neil B - Well on the price the N8 has been dropping recently, not sure if youve ever used Quidco but if you move quick today they are offering 10% cashback on the N8 on PAYG - So £369 - 36.90 = £332.1

Keithe6e

November 30, 2010, 10:05 pm

Tim, get a life. There has been mentions of WP7,Nokia,HTC & Android in this thread, but you spit out your dummy over a BTW on Apple. So, who do you think really has issues?

Tim Sutton

November 30, 2010, 10:54 pm

@Keith

You do, you scary Apple jihadist. Anyway, keep your anorak on. Talking about OS's in an OS article is relevant. Asking about unrelated phones in the very first comment isn't.

Geoff Richards

November 30, 2010, 11:13 pm

OK guys - take it easy. iPhone 5 is arguably at least 6 months away from being announced and was rather off-topic. So let's keep discussion to the merits of WebOS 2.0 please and Palm

KultiVator

November 30, 2010, 11:22 pm

Well let's hope the first HP WebOS tablet is with us before Apple kick out their next iPad/iPhone refreshes.

Might even surprise us and launch a small family of tablets and a premium phone or two as well.

That'd raise the bar.

Malderon

November 30, 2010, 11:44 pm

This looks really great but being awesome is no guarantee of success. I couldn't buy this because i'd be worried the uptake would be too low to have the variety of apps you get on android.

jgsm

December 1, 2010, 12:04 am

I bought a Pixi Plus from ebay for just over a ton. I've really enjoyed playing around with WebOS 2.0, and I'd love to see it on some stand-out hardware. For me, it's a close second to iOS - it only falls down due to the relatively sparse app store and laggy media player. However, it makes Android look and feel like a dog's dinner.

Neil B

December 1, 2010, 12:15 am

What about Bada, no one mentions that anymore ;-)

Keithe6e

December 1, 2010, 1:25 am

@Tim Sutton: You do,

Yeah, because I'm the one avoiding threads because of brand X.. Sad!!!

GoldenGuy

December 1, 2010, 5:14 am

@Ash

iPhone 5D will allow you to jump between several possible timelines - one reality where battery life has been perfected to infinity; one where liquid metal and a flexible 3.5"-17" screen allow you to scrunch the form factor into a little pocketable ball; or another where they fixed the call quality and proximity bug. It's called iHole.

J4cK1505

December 1, 2010, 8:29 am

Judging by your article, im sure this is a great OS, but my god its ugly, it just looks old! Like my grandmas wallpaper - strange I know

Greg Shewan

December 1, 2010, 1:24 pm

I defy TR or the usual bunch to not do any Apple related story or post one comment related to Apple products or software for a week....

Im betting it can't be done, cause look I just did it.

Moving along, WebOS is probably the easiest OS from what I've seen. No widgets is a deal breaker though, apart from the dated hardware it seems like a safe choice.

Ed

December 1, 2010, 2:08 pm

@J4cK1505: Huh? Yes, very strange.

@Greg Shewan: It's our job to reports what's out there. If an Apple related story's out there then so be it. No bet.

Ash

December 6, 2010, 9:55 pm

Free Newsletter

Get TrustedReviews' award-winning reviews, opinions and advice delivered to your inbox for free!

By submitting your details, you'll also receive emails from Time Inc. UK, publisher of Trusted Reviews and
other iconic brands about its goods and services, and those of its carefully selected third parties.

Please tick here if you'd prefer not to hear about:

Time Inc.'s goods & services, including all the latest news, great deals and offers

Free Newsletter

Get TrustedReviews' award-winning reviews and advice delivered to your inbox for free!

By submitting your details, you'll also receive emails from Time Inc. UK, publisher of Trusted Reviews and
other iconic brands about its goods and services, and those of its carefully selected third parties.

Please tick here if you'd prefer not to hear about:

Time Inc.'s goods & services, including all the latest news, great deals and offers